Telephone signal system.



No. 804,848. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. A. R. HOOVER. TELEPHONE SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Q $3 91 Swuewtoz WWI macaw A .R. Z /OOUET 82 H 0m at/1 0mm,

N0.'804,848. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905.

A. R. HOOVER. TELEPHONE SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APRZO. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrron AMIEL R. HOOVER, OF PLEASANTHILL, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO O. J. CRAIGMILES, OF PLEASANTHILL, ILLINOIS.

TELEPHONE SIGNAL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed April 20, 1905. Serial No. 256,592-

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AMIEL R. HoovER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pleasanthill, in the county of Pike and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone Signal Systems; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in telephone signal-call systems; and it consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of devices herein shown and described.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, durable, and efficient call system for telephone-lines by means of which a limited number of instruments may be operated on one line without a central.

The above and other objects, which will appear as the nature of my invention is better understood, are accomplished by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a telephone constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical elevation of the same with parts in section, the door of the box being swung to its open position;

and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the telephone system.

Referring to the drawings by numeral, 1 denotes a telephone-box which is mounted upon a base or back 2 and has a swinging door 3, hinged, as shown at 4, to form the front of the box. The usual binding-posts 5, 6, 7, and 8 are provided at the top of the base or back 2 for the bell line-wires 9 and the telephone line-wires 1.0. Upon the front or cover 3 of the telephone-box is mounted a call-bell 11 of well-known form and construction and a transmitter 12, also of well-known form and construction. Projecting through a slot in one side of the box 1 is the usual hook 13 for supporting a telephone receiver 15, which may be of any form and construction. The

receiver-hook 13 forms a part of the usual telephone-line switch 14, which when the receiver is upon it is held in an open position by the weight of the receiver and which when the latter is oif of said hook is held in a closed position by the action of a spring 16, as

shown. The switch 14 comprises a contactspring 17, which is secured within the box and suitably insulated, and a contact pin or stud 18, provided upon the hook or lever 13 and adapted to coact with said spring 17. W1th1n the box 1 upon its bottom is provided the usual telephone-line battery 19, which may consist of one or more cells, and above the latter upon a suitable shelf 20 is supported a relay 21. This relay is of well-known form and construction, as is also a switch 22,wh1ch is provided upon the outer face of one side of the box 1 and which comprises a spring-arm 23, retained normally in engagement wlth a stationary bracket 24 by reason of the resiliency of the former.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3 of the drawings, which shows a diagrammatic view of a telephone system embodying my invention, it will be seen that the same comprises the bell line-circuit 9, the telehone line-circuit 10, and a local bell-circuit 11. The telephone line-circuit 10 includes the switch 14, controlled by the rece1verhook, the receiver 15, the battery 19, and the transmitter 12. The bell line-circuit 9 includes the magnet-coils of the relay 21, the normally closed switch 22, and a gravitybattery 25, which may be located at any desired point. The local bell-circuit 11 includes the call-bell 11, the battery 19, and the armature 26 of the relay 21. It will be seen that the bell line-circuit 9 is normally closed, so that the magnet of the relay 21 attracts the armature 26 to break the signalbell circuit 11 at the contact-screw 27, so that the latter circuit is normally open. When the circuit 9 is broken by pressing the spring 23 away from the contact-bracket 24 of the switch 22, the magnet of the relay 21 will be denergized to permit the spring attached to the armature 26 to swing the latter into contact with the screw 27, and thereby complete the local signal-bell circuit 11 to cause the bell 11 to ring. By thus employing a closed bell line-circuit and normally open local signal-bell circuits it will be seen that a limited number of instruments may be 0 erated on a telephone-line without the use of a central, since each party may by operatin the switch 22 one or more times Sound a call or signal which may be recognized by the party to whom he desires to speak on that.

line. It will also be observed that by this arrangement of circuits the line will not be overloaded and the ringing will always be clear, since each bell Works on a separate local circuit.

From the fore oing description, taken in connection with t e accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let- 'ters Patent, is

The herein-described box having a hinged cover, a relay and local battery in the box, a receiver switch-hook and a circuit-closer in opposite sides of the box, a transmitter and local bell on the hinged cover of the box, binding-posts for a normally charged bell line-circult, conductors connecting said bindingposts with the circuit-closer and the coils of the relay, binding-posts for a telephone linecircuit, conductors connecting said bindingposts to the receiver switch-hook, the receiver, the armature-switch of the relay, the

- AMIEL R. HOOVER.

Witnesses W. R. SMITH, M. W. GRAFFQRD. 

